Orchard rip off

In preparation for game 2 of my 29 Let's Go Campaign I felt I wanted to have a better representation of orchards. There are a number of Orchards represented on the 29 Let's Go campaign maps so I thought why not start there. Especially as the fantastic Tactical Painter has already paved the way with his take on orchards (they appear in his Storming the Citadel Campaign) or plantations. So I am copying him.

I've cut out a number of plywood bases (just what scraps I had to hand), shaped roughly then sanded them down. Onto these I have glued willow sticks. I got these from a roll intended to be used as garden or flower bed edging. It cost £1 and I've barely dented the supply!

After that they get some caulk/mastic to blend into the base and create a little variation on the ground. Then a daubing of PVA and scattering of dried used coffee. I had some coffee grounds left over from a while ago when I was collecting and drying them for use as a basing material, I've decided now that sharp sand is just way easier to deal with. These are base coated in black emulsion.

 I found my initial hot glue job to get the willow sticks to adhere to the plywood was not quite sufficient and some felt wobbly. I went over all of them, adding wire as outriggers to the worst offenders but largely just a lot more hot glue and in a way as to give an impression of roots. They got painted up and a wee dry brush and I am much happier with them.

Next I glue on various bits of polyfibre out an old obliging pillow, again using hot glue. They get sprayed black to cover up the whiteness.

Once they have dried the polyfibre gets a spray of adhesive and a coating of foliage. At this stage they got used in the game as I had not got round to the final floor covering, and I think for the purpose they did well! There were certainly more distracting items of terrain on the board, namely some impromptu hedging and roads. Sigh. Still annoyed with myself over that one.

Finally some flock is added to the bases. And there we have it, some orchards! Some of the flock on the trees has fallen off, despite spraying PVA/water mix over them. Not sure how to combat it, I've tried a spray varnish which helps but never removes the problem entirely. As it stands I think they currently look alright as the darker patches act to break up the colour and add some depth to the foliage.